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Classes for Pre-Law

The American Bar Association (ABA) does not recommend any specific courses to prepare for law school.

Examples of UC Merced classes that may be related to law, politics, crime, public policy, forensic science, civil rights, ethics, social issues, or skills needed in law school or as a practicing attorney (oral presentations, research, written communication) are listed below.

NOTE:  this list is NOT exhaustive!  Many other UC Merced courses could assist you in preparing for law school or a legal career.

 

In the examples below:

  • Some courses may satisfy GE, major, or minor requirements.
  • Other courses may be electives based on your specific major or degree program.
    • Elective units count toward total degree units but do not satisfy a specific requirement.
  • First year students typically take courses numbered 001-099.
  • Courses numbered 100-199 may have prerequisites or be restricted to students declared in that major.
  • Some courses may be cross-listed in more than one department (for example, COGS 170 is the same class as ECON 153 or MGMT 153 or POLI 153).  You may take a cross-listed course only once.

 

To read class descriptions and check prerequisites:

  • Go to the current UC Merced Catalog
  • Select Course Descriptions in the left column.
  • Scroll down to filter by department abbreviation (ANTH, COGS, etc.)

 

Examples of possible UC Merced courses for pre-law students:

  • ANTH 112  Political Anthropology
  • ANTH 116  Indigenous Activism in the Americas
  • ANTH 120  Introduction to Medical Anthropology
  • ANTH 124  Ethnopsychology
  • ANTH 150  Race and Human Variation
  • ANTH 152  Dying, Death, and Dead Persons
  • ANTH 177  Forensic Anthropology
  • ANTH 178  Human Osteology
  • BIOE 108  Genetic Engineering
  • COGS 160  Free Will in Philosophy and Cognitive Science
  • COGS 170  Judgment and Decision Making
    • Same course as ECON 153, MGMT 153, POLI 153
  • COGS 172  Thinking & Reasoning
  • COGS 173  Advanced Judgment and Decision Making
    • Same course as MGMT 173
  • COGS 182  Service Science
    • Same course as MIST 150, MGMT 150
  • CRES 001  Introduction to Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
  • CRES 020  Introduction to Asian American Studies
  • CRES 040  Introduction to Black Studies
  • CRES 101  Race and the Media
  • CRES 102  Race, Gender, Sexuality
  • CRES 120  Race, Law and Civil Rights
  • CRES 121  Critical Refugee Studies
  • CRES 122  Comparative Immigrations
  • CRES 123  Comparative Race and Ethnicity in the United States
    • Same course as HIST 123
  • CRES 124BR  African American History 1877 to Present:  Research
    • Same course as HIST 124BR
  • CRES 174B  Divas and Democracy
  • ECON 115  Economics of Industrial Organization
  • ECON 120  Economics of the Environment and Public Policy
  • ECON 121  Economics of Money, Banking, and Financial Institutions
  • ECON 132  Tax Accounting
  • ECON 138  Advanced Corporate Taxation
  • ECON 140  Labor Economics
  • ECON 143  Economics of Crime and Policing
  • ECON 144  Economics of Immigration
  • ECON 149  Economics of Sports
  • ECON 152  Law & Economics
  • ECON 153  Judgment and Decision Making
    • Same course as COGS 170, MGMT 153, POLI 153
  • ECON 155  Political Economics
  • EH 001  Introduction to Environmental Communications
    • Same course as ENG 001
  • ENG 001  Introduction to Environmental Communications
    • Same course as EH 001
  • ENG 018  Crime and Horror in Victorian Literature and Culture
  • ENG 132  Human Rights and Literature
  • ENG 133  Race, Law, and American Literature
  • ENG 169  Theatre and Social Responsibility
    • Same course as GASP 153
  • ENG 187  Shakespeare and Social Justice
  • ENGR 141  Environmental Science and Policy
    • Same course as ESS 141, GEOG 141
  • ENGR 192  Intellectual Property for Engineers and Scientists
  • ENVE 010  Environment in Crisis
  • ESS 141  Environmental Science and Policy
    • Same course as ENGR 141, GEOG 141
  • GASP 041A  Performative Storytelling
  • GASP 141A  Advanced Performative Storytelling
  • GASP 153  Theater and Social Responsibility
    • Same course as ENG 169
  • GEOG 141  Environmental Science and Policy
    • Same course as ENGR 141, ESS 141
  • HIST 017  Twentieth-Century America
  • HIST 021  History of the American West, 1850-2000
  • HIST 123  Comparative Race and Ethnicity in the United States
    • Same course as CRES 123
  • HIST 124B  African American History 1877 to Present
  • HIST 124BR  African American History 1877 to Present:  Research
    • Same course as CRES 124BR
  • HIST 129  Introduction to Chicano History
  • HIST 170R  Law & Society in Early Modern England:  Research
  • MGMT 118  Women in Executive Leadership
  • MGMT 122  Teams and Organizations
  • MGMT 123  Business Ethics
  • MGMT 124  Organizational Behavior and Leadership
  • MGMT 125  Entertainment Management
  • MGMT 127  Public Sector and Non-Profit Management
  • MGMT 135  Business Law
  • MGMT 136  Advanced Business Law
  • MGMT 150  Service Science
    • Same course as COGS 182, MIST 150
  • MGMT 153  Judgment and Decision Making
    • Same course as COGS 170, ECON 153, POLI 153
  • MGMT 173  Advanced Judgment and Decision Making
    • Same course as COGS 173
  • MIST 120  Park and Protected Area Management
  • MIST 135  Technical Communication and Visualization Skills
  • MIST 150  Service Science
    • Same course as COGS 182, MGMT 150
  • PHIL 002  Introduction to Ethics
  • PHIL 003  Contemporary Moral Problems
  • PHIL 004  Critical Reasoning
  • PHIL 005  Introduction to Logic
  • PHIL 109  Philosophy of Law
  • PHIL 122  Bioethics
  • PHIL 126  Environmental Philosophy and Politics
  • PHIL 128  Human Rights
  • POLI 001  Introduction to American Politics
  • POLI 002  Controversies in American Politics
  • POLI 003  Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • POLI 005  Introduction to International Relations
  • POLI 006  Global Issues
  • POLI 100  Congressional Politics
  • POLI 101  The Presidency
  • POLI 102  Judicial Politics
  • POLI 105  Interest Groups and Political Parties
  • POLI 106  Urban Politics
  • POLI 107  California Politics
  • POLI 108  Direct Democracy
  • POLI 109  Legislative Simulation
  • POLI 110  Governmental Power and the Constitution
  • POLI 111  Liberty, Equality and the Constitution
  • POLI 112  Public Policy:  Analysis, Strategy, and Impact
  • POLI 120  Voting Behavior, Campaigns, and Elections
  • POLI 123  Political Psychology
  • POLI 125  Public Opinion
  • POLI 127  Race, Gender, and Politics
  • POLI 130  Institutions of Democracy
  • POLI 131  Everyday Politics in Latin America
  • POLI 138  Politics of Poverty and Prosperity
  • POLI 140  Transitions to Democracy
  • POLI 145  Political Violence
  • POLI 150  Causes of International Conflict
  • POLI 153:  Judgment and Decision Making
    • Same course as COGS 170, ECON 153, MGMT 153
  • POLI 158  Politics of Human Rights
  • POLI 160  U.S. Foreign Policy
  • POLI 165  International Organizations & Regimes
  • POLI 171  Politics and Film
  • POLI 172  Games and Human Behavior
  • POLI 174  Data Science and Government Affairs
  • POLI 175  Advanced Analysis of Political Data
  • PSY 001  Introduction to Psychology
  • PSY 104  Psychological Tests and Measurement
  • PSY 111  Forensic Psychology
  • PSY 112  Psychology & Law
  • PSY 123  Alcohol, Drugs, and Behavior
  • PSY 126  The Science of Behavior Change
  • PSY 142  Psychopathology
  • PSY 143  Developmental Psychopathology
  • PSY 150  Personality Psychology
  • PSY 151  The Psychology of Stereotyping and Prejudice
  • PSY 152  Psychological Perspectives on Cultural, Racial and Ethnic Diversity
  • PSY 156  Social Psychology
  • PSY 157  Personal Relationships
  • PSY 171  Psychological Tests and Measurement
  • PSY 172  Forensic Psychology
  • PSY 185  Drugs of Abuse:  Psychopharmacology I
  • PSY 186  Therapeutic Drugs:  Psychopharmacology II
  • PH 105  Introduction to U.S. Health Care System
  • PH 106  Health Policy
  • PH 185  Introduction to Health and Biomedical Ethics
  • SOC 001  Introduction to Sociology
  • SOC 009  Community Mobilization and Politics
  • SOC 020  Social Problems
  • SOC 030  Social Inequality
  • SOC 035  Introduction to Political Sociology
  • SOC 038  Sociology of Race and Racism
  • SOC 070  Introduction to Crime and Deviance
  • SOC 107  Law and Society
  • SOC 108  Advanced Topics in Criminology
  • SOC 110  Social Movements, Protest and Collective Action
  • SOC 115  Political Sociology
  • SOC 116  Inequality & Public Policy
  • SOC 118  Hate Crime
  • SOC 121  Latina/o/x Sociology
  • SOC 130  Social Stratification
  • SOC 131  Urban Inequality
  • SOC 133  Higher Education in the U.S.
  • SOC 134  Sports and Society
  • SOC 160  Gender and Society
  • SOC 180  Advanced Issues in Race and Ethnicity
  • SOC 182  Current Topics in Immigration
  • SOC 183  Intersectionality
  • SPAN 108  Spanish for Business and Management
  • SPAN 177  Sociolinguistics and Latino Health
  • WRI 022  Interpersonal Communication
  • WRI 025  Introduction to Creative Writing
  • WRI 030  Introduction to Professional Writing
  • WRI 090  Intersections of Creative and Professional Writing
  • WRI 100  Advanced Writing
  • WRI 104  Personal Style and Formal Writing
  • WRI 105  Grammar and Style
  • WRI 118  Management Communication Theory and Practice
  • WRI 120  Rhetorical Theory
  • WRI 121  International Rhetoric
  • WRI 122  Special Topics in Rhetoric
  • WRI 130  Topics in Professional Writing
  • WRI 155  Seminar in Professional Writing

 

There may also be law-related classes available through UC Online.

  • These online courses are offered through other UC campuses.
  • First years are eligible to take a UC Online class AFTER you have completed at least one semester in the academic year (fall or spring) at UC Merced and are in good academic standing.
  • See more at Office of the Registrar.

 

Examples of possible UC Online courses for UC Merced pre-law students:

  • African American Studies (AF AMER) 1:  Introduction to Black Studies (UCLA)
  • Asian American Studies (ASAMST) 20AC:  Asian American Communities and Race Relations (UC Berkeley)
  • Biomedical Engineering (BIM) 088V:  Introduction to Research (UC Davis)
  • Communication (CMN) 003V:  Interpersonal Communication Competence (UC Davis)
  • Communication (COMM) W146:  Deception Communication (UC Santa Barbara)
  • COWL 52:  Personal Finance and Investing (UC Santa Cruz)
  • Education (EDUC) 023:  Introduction to Education Policy (UC Riverside)
  • Education (EDUC) 150:  Policy and Legal Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics (UC Riverside)
  • Education (EDUC) W164:  Early Childhood Policy:  Children, Contexts, and Politics in Diverse Societies (UC Berkeley)
  • Global Health (GLBH) 171R:  Global Mental Health (UC San Diego)
  • Political Science (POL SCI) 60:  Ethics and Governance (UCLA)
  • Political Science (POL SCI) 115D:  Diversity, Disagreement, and Democracy (UCLA)
  • Political Science (POL) 165V:  Mass Media and Politics (UC Davis)
  • Public Policy (PBPL) 001:  Introduction to Public Policy Analysis (UC Riverside)
  • Theatre, Film, and Digital Production (TFDP) 0505:  Public Speaking (UC Riverside)
  • Writing 60:  Argument and Research (UC Irvine)